> Convoy organizer, PC and Liberal MPs offer their opinions /Pgs 3-5 > Respect seems a thing of the past: Turcotte Pg 8 > Lincoln hosts several vax clinics Pg 8 > “Coldest Night” looks for participants Pg 11 Thursday, February 3, 2022 Vol. 10 Issue 38
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Trucker support
Overpasses along Ontario’s 400 series highways were filled with local residents showing support for truckers headed to Ottawa for last weekend’s Freedom Convoy 2022. Grimsby and Lincoln were no different. See Pages 3-5 for more details.
Grimsby confirms opposition to photo radar program By Mike Williscraft NewsNow After a second round of debate, Grimsby Council voted 5-4 to reject Niagara Region’s plan to implement a photo radar program. A series of financial concerns, which largely went unaddressed during a presentation by regional officials at a Committee of the Whole session, and problems with the program justification could not be overcome. Coun. Reg Freake told council at its Jan. 21 meeting he believed the matter should be reconsidered. “I think there’s a program here that we can adopt which will save lives and that’s the important thing for me,” said Freake, who noted several statistics showing declines in speeding and
accidents from a Toronto study. Coun. Dave Kadwell said the program would improve safety for those most vulnerable, children, cyclists and pedestrians in general. “It’s another tool for us,” said Grimsby director of public works, Brandon Wartman. Coun. Randy Vaine, who has spoken in favour of the photo radar program - and the red light cameras which are also part of the package - said he would not support the proposal because all the Town’s wards have speeding issues and photo radar in selective locations will push speeders onto peripheral routes. “If the Region would move these around to non-regional roads I would support these 150 per cent but if
you’re just going to pick certainly regional roads and all that other stuff, I can’t,” said Vaine. Coun. Dorothy Bothwell said photo radar and red light cameras are only two aspects of the region’s Vision Zero Road Safety Program, adding that other measures can be carried on. She noted the program includes hiring 12 new court staff and two project managers at a cost of $15 million over three years. “This motion is not to financially support other initiatives within the Vision Zero model. The Vision Zero model and initiatives can continue without implementing red light cameras and ESEs (automated speed enforcement),” said Bothwell, who added several actions are available to
enhance safety measures. Coun. Lianne Vardy was concerned the measure was being proposed with no public engagement on the matter. Coun. Dave Sharpe said, using Region numbers, projections equate to each camera issuing “several hundred” tickets per day, with nearly $1 million in fines coming from two cameras proposed for Grimsby. “The Region wouldn’t tell us what the threshold is that will trigger a ticket. They also wouldn’t tell us the hours,” noted Sharpe. Councillors Bothwell, Sharpe, Vaine, Vardy and Kevin Ritchie opposed approving the program. Councillors Freake, Kadwell, John Dunstall and Mayor Jeff Jordan voted in favour.